Jakarta | 1 of 2

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

We arrived in Jakarta, having no clue what to expect. It is the 13th biggest city in the world, with a population of almost 10,000,000. We spent 5 days here and to tell you the truth we didn't see much. And what we did see was out of a taxi window. The traffic is RIDICULOUS in Jakarta (it's rated as having the second worst traffic in the world, just behind Sao Paulo, Brazil). Getting from our hotel to anywhere took at least an hour in a taxi. And walking around was tough because there is no sidewalk to walk on and no where to walk to. We spent some time in one of Jakarta's (many) fancy malls. Which was quite a weird experience. You spend an hour sitting in a taxi looking at all the poverty around you and then you pull up at a fancy mall with Louis Vuitton and D&G stores selling their luxury goods, and wondering who the heck can afford this stuff. I don't think there is a middle class in Jakarta. I don't want to judge a city after only being there for 5 days but the traffic alone is enough to keep me from coming back. 

So that's the bad. The good is that the people are very warm and nice. We met up with one of our blog followers, Gladys, and we quickly became friends. She generously spent several days showing us around Jakarta, making us try local food, introducing us to her friends, and even took us to her church on Sunday (we'll share some of those photos in the next post). Experiencing a new city is always more fun with locals. 

As you know, our camera broke in Thailand, so we bought a new camera online and were able to ship it to Gladys. Most of the photos below are from our last day in Jakarta when we finally got our new Nikon D700 (some of the first shots are from the compact camera). Most of the photos were taken out of taxi windows or from the back of a hired scooter. On our last day, instead of crawling through traffic in a taxi cab, I paid an older man on a scooter to give me a quicker ride. I held on with one arm (hoping the guy didn't mind me squeezing him) and snapped away with the other. I'm sure I got my share of pollution for the rest of my life in that 20 minute scooter ride.

We stayed in a little boutique hotel called the R Residence, which was great because we were the only guests there and had the whole place to ourselves. They served us hot breakfast every morning with a glass of amazing guava juice. The owners were very nice and went out of their way to take care of us and make sure we had a great stay.  

Side story -- We were running a little late to our flight out of Jakarta and the taxi driver didn't see the time right (or Gladys told him to give us a trip we wouldn't forget) but this was one of the scariest rides we've been on yet. Whenever we hit traffic (which was most of the time), he would fly onto the shoulder or into incoming traffic, took random U-turns, and sped so fast it was unbearable to watch. We did get to the airport on time.... and alive. 

- Yuriy


23 comments :

  1. Really Nice photo set. The locals look so funny on the pics. They all "taxi" drivers?

    Remind me a little of Bangkok.

    Have fun!

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  2. and I thought the traffic was bad in LA. Although your photos were out taxi ca windows you still got some great shots of the people.

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    1. Oh yeah. It made us appreciate the traffic in Seattle a little more!

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  3. I know you'll write something like this *about traffic and mall*, when you mentioned about Jakarta in the last post, lol. You guys should go to Yogyakarta or Bali instead, more things (& culture) to see there than another fancy malls in Jakarta.

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    1. Sun- We did go to Bali. Those photos are next! :) And despite the traffic in Jakarta, we still enjoyed ourselves.

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  4. we're going to jakarta in may, on our way to sumatra. will be there for two nights. what would you recommend we do there? any cool markets worth checking out?
    love all the portraits!

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    1. Gemma- We didn't hear of or visit any markets. Honestly, I can't think of anything to suggest. I remember reading of a few interesting things to do outside of the city, but we didn't feel like driving that far since even short distances took a really long time in the traffic. We enjoyed hanging out with locals though. I'm sure you will enjoy it if you have a camera!

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  5. I love your blog/ beautiful post on Indonesia! You really captured the people!

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  6. the one thing i gather most from these photos is that indonesians are anything but shy! great pics!

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  7. Yay!!! Finally you made it to Jakarta! I live here and can you imagine how stressful it is living in a city with such horrible traffic? However I do hope you make it to Yogyakarta to see Borobudur temple, the world's largest Buddhist shrine which dates back from the 8th century (yes, centuries older than Angkor Wat!).

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    1. Unfortunately we didn't make it to Yogyakarta. I think I'd ride a bike if I lived in Jakarta! :)

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  8. Love the photo of guy passed out in his tuk tuk!!!

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  9. Doesn't look like you had permission to photograph many of those people. One guy is even covering his face! How do you deal with that? Don't you have to get them to sign something to be featured on you're site bc you are pro photographers so you make money off this website and your pictures?

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    1. From my understanding, you only need a model release if you plan to use the photo to sell a product/something other than the photo. Photos taken in public can be used for any other purpose... I can blog, submit them to publications, or sell them. Most people loved getting their photo taken anyway!

      Street photography is always going to be a little controversial, but I think it's the best way to document a place when traveling.

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    2. Well, actually i think most of Indonesian don't mind to be photographed by strangers. Street photographers are common here and i never saw rejection from the people who's photographed on the street. Some people even enjoy to be photographed :)

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  10. Great photos as usual. (You must tire of hearing that now)

    An hour in a taxi to get anywhere? That would send me over the edge. I would have hid out in my hotel. Kudos to you for getting out on the scooter!

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    1. No no, it's always a treat to hear this. :) Thank you so much.

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  11. Yuriy! yaayy you finally made it to the post. :)
    I cant believe its already over a year since I met you both. Still feels like yesterday. I really enjoyed your company and though we just had 3 days to walk around the city, but for me it was the most unforgettable moment I've experienced with my international friends. You both are just the kindest, nicest, and warmest couple. am anxiously waiting for the next post.

    Gemma, I really would love to accompany you here for two nights. As Yuriy said, there's not much to see but fancy malls and poverty everywhere. But I know some traditional markets or places that you might be interested. :) Just let me know.

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    1. Gladys, we loved meeting you in Jakarta! Couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. Truly.

      You should check out the next post. You might recognize a face or two!!

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  12. It's funny you mentioned about Sao Paulo. It kind reminds me of it in some pictures. (Have you ever been?!). I love the pictures from the locals! It looks like they were having fun having their pictures taken :)

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  13. Great pictures! Experiencing life like the locals is always the best way to go :)

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  14. oh wow! you guys made it to Jakarta, didn't think you'd stop here! I live here and yes, traffic is that bad and having to deal with it everyday is just gruesome! LOVE all the pics! You actually made Jakarta look pretty cool! =)

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